Video Vault: Don't miss this killer class reunion

Friday

Feb 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 29, 2008 at 2:15 PM

To wind up the series of high school films reviewed in recent Video Vaults, let’s look at a movie focusing on a high school reunion — with a dark comic twist: 1997’s “Grosse Pointe Blank” follows Martin Blank (John Cusack) to his 10-year reunion as he navigates the usual collection of old girlfriends, forgotten buddies and drunken classmates.

Will Pfeifer

To wind up the series of high school films reviewed in recent Video Vaults, let’s look at a movie focusing on a high school reunion — with a dark comic twist: 1997’s “Grosse Pointe Blank” follows Martin Blank (John Cusack) to his 10-year reunion as he navigates the usual collection of old girlfriends, forgotten buddies and drunken classmates.

What sets Blank apart is what he’s been doing since graduation: He’s a highly skilled, highly paid assassin, and while he’s in town for the reunion, he also has a job to do.
The humor, as it should be in any movie involving a hitman, is razor sharp, and director George Armitage skillfully mixes the jokes with edgy violence, a shifting moral landscape and a great cast. (Dan Aykroyd, delivering his best performance in years, plays a rival hitman trying to convince Blank to unionize.)

As a bonus, “Grosse Pointe Blank” has one of the best soundtracks of the 1990s. Not only does it reflect the ’80s graduation date of our (anti) hero, but songs by the Clash, the Specials and the English Beat nicely reflect the on-screen action. One of the film’s best moments, in fact, is when Blank comes face-to-face with impending maturity (in the form of a classmate’s baby) and the Queen/David Bowie classic “Under Pressure” plays on the soundtrack. It’s a great scene in a film full of them.

Will Pfeifer writes about new DVDs on Tuesdays and older ones on Sundays. Contact him at wpfeifer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1244. You can also read his Movie Man blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/movieman.